Fiat's new 500L is so vastly different from the ubiquitous 500 as to be an entirely different vehicle. The 500XXL would be a better name for the five-seat hatchback, which offers dramatically more interior space than the 500 subcompact and feels as cavernous as the 500 feels cramped.

Since the Italian manufacturer's return to the U.S. in 2011 with its Cinquecento, Fiat's offerings have grown into a proper Italian family with the sport-oriented Abarth and "environmentally sexy" all-electric 500e, but the profile of the 2014 500L is a radical departure. It presumes the childless couples who've been driving the 500 have had such a good experience with the $16,000 entry car that they'll stick with Fiat when they expand their own families and need to cart more stuff.

The five-seat 500L offers 42 percent more interior space than the four-seat 500 without a proportionate increase in price or disproportionate decrease in fuel economy. The 500L starts at $19,900 (including destination) and claims an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 27 mpg combined.

Powered with a more responsive, turbocharged version of the same 1.4-liter, inline-4-cylinder engine as the significantly smaller 500, the 500L employs Fiat's new "small-wide" architecture. It's 27 inches longer, 6 inches wider and 6 inches taller than the 500, all of which morph the Cinquecento into a shape that looks like a mash-up of the Scion XB and Mini Countryman. If the Scion resembles a breadbox, the 500L is a DeLonghi toaster.

The L of the 500L doesn't only stand for large. Fiat has worked six meanings into that single letter, the second most significant being "loft." My test vehicle was the most decked out of its four available trims. Designed to be the most "elegant, sophisticated and contemporary" of the bunch, the Lounge features chrome exterior mirrors and door handles, as well as a dual-pane panoramic sunroof that enhanced the 500L's 360-degree visibility to the point that it mimicked a convertible – minus the wind. All versions of the 500L use the same unusual front-window design. The front-seat side windows are split in two pieces, recalling the triangle windows of yore only larger and unopenable.

Coupled with tall captain's chairs for the front seats and a steering wheel that feels soft, rather than taut, the 500L drives somewhat like a small delivery truck. And it could probably be used as one. The rear hatch is unusually low and the opening exceptionally tall. The hatch itself would be more user-friendly if it opened and closed automatically with the key fob, but it doesn't.

At least the rear passenger seats fold easily. With the press of a button that's reachable through the lift gate, the seats don't just fold. They perform an acrobatic somersault, curling forward and resting against the front row seats to open more than enough cargo space for the strollers and suitcases that are likely to be transported by the 500L's target buyer.

Unfortunately, that space is bi-level. The cargo floor is flat, but it steps down when the rear seats are folded.

The seats themselves are comfortable, if firm, and offer excellent head and leg room in the front as well as the rear. That's a pleasant change from the two-door 500, the back seat of which could only be enjoyed by contortionists.

The cockpit is finished in the same circular theme as the smaller 500, with round gauges for the speedometer and tachometer on the digital dashboard display and oversized knobs for the climate controls in the center console, which is topped with a 5- or 6.5-inch touch screen. The most significant technology features are not standard. The rear-view camera, navigation and parking assist features are available as an optional package for $1,745. My test vehicle's stereo was likewise upgraded with Beats Audio – a $500, six-speaker option that itself sounded muffled and in need of an upgrade.

There are some odd aspects to the car. The side mirrors are separated in two sections set off with a vertical line. Having driven the car for several days, I still can't figure out the purpose of the outermost section of mirror, which distorted the look of approaching vehicles with a funhouse effect but didn't do anything to make me feel more informed of encroaching dangers.

Then there was the robotic lady voice, which dropped the volume of the stereo to verbally reprimand me with an announcement of the legal speed limit whenever I exceeded it by an unacceptable amount. It was a bit like having an invisible schoolmarm on board, and quite the opposite of the frisky and fashionable vibe Fiat has been promoting.

The Italians aren't just coming. They're here to stay, apparently, and thinking big and bold with the 500L.

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